3 cars stolen, 2 others nearly taken in Phillipsburg

Phillipsburg police are alerting residents to a recent rash of car thefts and attempted car thefts in the town.

Three vehicles were stolen in the last two weeks, and two other thefts were attempted, police said. All three stolen vehicles were recovered, two in Phillipsburg and one in Easton.

One vehicle was stolen Jan. 19 at the Wawa at 411 Roseberry St., near Route 22. Police said the vehicle owner left the motor running when he went into the store and saw his vehicle driving away when he came out.

That vehicle was found 15 minutes later on N. 10th Street in Easton. Phillipsburg police charged Brian Mulrooney, 20, of Roseberry Street with car theft and motor vehicle violations.

A sport utility vehicle was stolen Jan. 20 in the first block of Marshall Street, where a woman left it running to warm it up. The SUV was recovered the next day, and Darian Cruse, 18, of Mercer Street, Phillipsburg, was arrested on a charge of possession of stolen property.

The third recent theft happened the morning of Jan. 22 in the 300 block of S. Main Street. The stolen car was found in the 600 block of Sayre Avenue, Phillipsburg. No one has been charged in that theft.

The attempted car thefts were Jan. 22 in the rear of the first block of Lewis Street and between Jan. 20 and Jan. 23 in the 200 block of Fillmore Street. Both cars had damage indicating someone tried to start the engines.

In the same time period, 10 cars were broken into in Phillipsburg and, in several of the cases, valuables were stolen.